The Influence of Different Shear Directions on the Shear Resistance Characteristics of Rock Joints

The joint roughness coefficient JRC of rock joints is an important parameter for measuring the geometric morphology of rock joints. However, the parameter obtained from traditional calculation methods has certain limitations in reflecting the differences in shear strength of rock joints in different shear directions with the same orientation. Firstly, native joint surface test blocks were cast using three-dimensional reverse reconstruction technology. Subsequently, direct shear tests were conducted under different normal stress and shear direction conditions, followed by numerical simulations using the finite difference software Flac3d. The JRC coefficient calculation method proposed by Yuan was modified and extended by considering the percentage of climbing sections and the effective contact area during the ramping process. This study indicates that the numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the shear test results. The introduction of the shear climbing rate SCR and the curvature coefficient of profile CCP is used to reflect the geometric differences of the joint surfaces in different shear directions. These two parameters are nonlinearly fitted with the experimental results, leading to a calculation formula that characterizes the shear strength characteristics of the joint surfaces in different shear directions. This novel formula is an extension of the JRC–JCS model.

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